The 30-share index BSE Sensex continued to trade in the positive terrain on the back of good buying action witnessed in pivotal stocks.

Realty, metal, power and banking stocks went up while FMCG and IT traded negatively.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap gained 0.95% & 0.82% respectively.

At 12:59 p.m, Sensex gained 93.93 points, or 0.65%, at 14,637.66, after touching a high of 14,703.57 and a low of 14,584.03.

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks extended losses Wednesday after overnight declines in the US market.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 36.51 points in morning trading, or 0.28 per cent, to close at 12,828.54.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 6.31 points, or 0.51 per cent, to 1,229.23.

The Tokyo market was seeing second day of losses mainly in financial and export-oriented issues after the indices tumbled more than 2 per cent Tuesday on renewed worries about the global credit crunch and the weakening economy in the United States, Japan's largest export market.

Washington - US stocks declined Tuesday after producer prices surged and housing construction plummeted by the most in 17 years, prompting investor concerns that the United States has entered a prolonged period of low growth and high inflation.

Wholesale prices jumped 9.8 per cent in July from a year earlier, the Labour Department reported, while the Commerce Department said that housing starts dropped 11 per cent.

Wall Street warnings of fresh writedowns of financial assets related to the housing crisis also led banking stocks lower.

Hong Kong - Hong Kong stocks fell by 2.1 per cent Tuesday to their lowest level in a year on continued pessimism over slowing economic growth.

The Hang Seng Index closed at 20,884 - a fall of 446 points on the previous day's trading. Turnover was 48.8 billion Hong Kong dollars (6.1 billion US dollars).

Analysts attributed the fall to increased concerns over the effect of the credit crisis on corporate earnings.

Property stocks fared the worst with Cheung Kong dropping 4.3 per cent to close at 102 Hong Kong dollars ahead of its first half year results later this week.

NSE Nifty was down by 51 points at 1 pm IST at 4341 while BSE Sensex was down by 188 points. Following weak global trend, Indian stock markets opened lower on Tuesday and slipped further during the first two hours of trading session. US Markets closed weak on Monday and Asian stocks opened lower on Tuesday.

In today’s session, Auto and Banking stocks were among major losers. IT Stocks were looking better compared to other sectors.

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks lost more than 2 per cent Tuesday on overnight falls in the US market.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average tumbled 349.02 points in morning trading, or 2.65 per cent, to 12,816.43.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 31.19 points, or 2.47 per cent, at 1,263.75.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 110.10-15 yen, down from Monday's 5 pm quote of 110.25-26 yen.